This
is going to show US imperialism to be a paper tiger (to use Mao’s
expression) – either that or we are going to see Armageddon

Editorial

Reckless
game over the Korean Peninsula runs risk of real war

The
US and North Korea have both ramped up their threatening rhetoric.
The Pentagon has prepared plans for B-1B strategic bombers to make
preemptive strikes on North Korea's missile sites. US Secretary of
Defense James Mattis issued an ultimatum to North Korea on Wednesday
to "cease any consideration of actions that would lead to the
end of its regime and destruction of its people."

Meanwhile,
North Korea issued plans to fire four intermediate-range missiles to
land

30-40
kilometers from Guam and claimed it would finalize the plan by
mid-August.

Some
people in Guam have already expressed panic for the first time after
the end of the Cold War. The US has already got the worst of the
confrontation with North Korea.

Many
people believe the possibility of war is very low. If war really
breaks out, the US can hardly reap any strategic harvest and North
Korea will face unprecedented risks. North Korea aims to propel the
US to negotiate with it, while the US wants to put North Korea in
check. Neither can achieve its goal, so they compete to escalate
tensions, but neither wants to take the initiative to launch a war.

The
real danger is that such a reckless game may lead to miscalculations
and a strategic "war." That is to say, neither Washington
nor Pyongyang really wants war, but a war could break out anyway as
they do not have the experience of putting such an extreme game under
control.

In
the near future, it would be highly sensitive if US B-1B fighter jets
fly over the Korean Peninsula or North Korea launches missiles in the
direction of Guam. Both sides would upgrade their alert to the
highest level. The uncertainty in the Korean Peninsula is growing.

Beijing
is not able to persuade Washington or Pyongyang to back down at this
time. It needs to make clear its stance to all sides and make them
understand that when their actions jeopardize China's interests,
China will respond with a firm hand.

China
should also make clear that if North Korea launches missiles that
threaten US soil first and the US retaliates, China will stay
neutral. If the US and South Korea carry out strikes and try to
overthrow the North Korean regime and change the political pattern of
the Korean Peninsula, China will prevent them from doing so.

China
opposes both nuclear proliferation and war in the Korean Peninsula.
It will not encourage any side to stir up military conflict, and will
firmly resist any side which wants to change the status quo of the
areas where China's interests are concerned. It is hoped that both
Washington and Pyongyang can exercise restraint. The Korean Peninsula
is where the strategic interests of all sides converge, and no side
should try to be the absolute dominator of the region.

From
RT

China
will prevent the US and South Korea from carrying out strikes on
North Korea and trying to overthrow the leadership there, but will
remain neutral if Pyongyang launches missiles at American targets
first, the state-run Global Times said.

The
warning, delivered through an editorial in the Chinese state-run
newspaper on Thursday, comes as both the US and North Korea continue
to exchange incendiary remarks, raising the risk of overreaction or
miscalculation amid the crisis.

Beijing
should make it clear that “if
North Korea launches missiles that threaten US soil first and the US
retaliates, China will stay neutral,” the Global
Times wrote.

But
if the US and its ally South Korea take on Pyongyang and try
to“overthrow
the North Korean regime and change the political pattern of the
Korean Peninsula, China will prevent them from doing so,” the
paper stressed.

The
widely-quoted newspaper, published by the Communist Party’s
official People’s Daily, also noted that the latest developments
are seen in Beijing with growing frustration and deep concern.

“If
war really breaks out, the US can hardly reap any strategic harvest
and North Korea will face unprecedented risks,” the
paper cautioned.“North
Korea aims to propel the US to negotiate with it, while the US wants
to put North Korea in check.”

Beijing
was unable “to
persuade Washington or Pyongyang to back down at this time,” the
Global Times said, adding it primarily pursues peace and stability in
the region. All sides involved in the crisis should understand
that “when
their actions jeopardize China's interests, China will respond with a
firm hand,” the
government paper explained.

China
– North Korea’s long-standing economic partner and ideological
ally – reiterated on Friday that all sides involved in the crisis
must

“speak
and act with caution” as
well as build up trust rather than “taking
turns in shows of strength,” according
to a Foreign Ministry statement quoted by Reuters.

Earlier
in the week, US President Donald Trump added more fuel to the North
Korean crisis, saying that his previous threat to unleash

“fire
and fury which the world has never seen” was
perhaps not“tough
enough.”

Speaking
on Thursday at his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey, Trump said
the North Koreans “better
get their act together or they’re going to be in trouble like few
nations ever have been in trouble in this world.” The
open threat from Washington came after Pyongyang ridiculed
Trump’s “fire
and fury” remark
as a “load
of nonsense.”

Pyongyang
also announced that a detailed plan to launch missiles against the US
Pacific airbase on Guam will be completed soon. In response, the US
military signaled it could dispatch strategic B-1 bombers to target
North Korea’s missile launch sites, underground facilities and
other installations.

Such
a “reckless
game” may
result in dire consequences, the Global Times said. “Neither
Washington nor Pyongyang really wants war, but a war could break out
anyway as they do not have the experience of putting such an extreme
game under control.”

The
stakes are extremely high as both sides seem ready for worst-case
scenarios, according to respected Russian observers. Pavel Zolotarev,
a retired Russian major general, told RT that decision-making in
Washington goes “beyond
rational logic, and … we can have consequences that are hard to
foresee.”

“Every
country’s military has to elaborate deployment strategies for any
eventuality. It is politicians – not the military – who decide on
whether or not to use such plans… So, if the North Korean military
talks of such plans, it means it actually has them,” he
said, commenting on Pyongyang’s threat to target Guam.

“The
North Korean military may inflict significant damage to US forces
during a conventional conflict. Though their equipment is far behind
the American assets, their combat readiness and military morale are
much higher,” the
retired general said.